Amherst swim coach brings new philosophy

AMHERST — In her first year as head coach of the Amherst swimming and diving teams, Coach Mary Bartek has already placed her stamp on the team.
Heading into the past weekend, both teams were 2-0. However, losses by both the boys and girls squad to Hudson at a dual meet that included Chardon gave both teams their first losses, dropping them to 3-1 overall and 1-0 in the Southwestern Conference.
“They’ve been doing awesome,” Bartek said. “In a way, it sometimes seems that they have been doing too good.”
Despite the successes of prior seasons, Bartek was not sure how the teams would fare this year. The boys team graduated many strong swimmers last year, while the girls team boasts a 2013-14 roster that has a combined 11 freshmen and sophomores.
“I wasn’t sure what to expect heading into the season,” Bartek said. “But the girls have stepped up and the boys continue to work hard despite a lack of depth on the roster.”
The youth of the athletes combined with a new coach could have spelled disaster early for the Comets, but Bartek was not going to allow that to happen.
Bartek has been coaching on and off for the last 30 years. In addition to a strong coaching background, Bartek has arguably an even stronger swimming background.
Bartek attended Cleveland State on a full scholarship for swimming. Additionally, she ranks as one of the best in the nation in the 1,500 freestyle for her age group. At the 37th Annual Lakeside Masters Summer Long Course Invitation held Aug. 3-4, Bartek posted the fifth-fastest 1,500 freestyle time on the year.
It is her strong swimming background that has helped her win the respect of the teams, Bartek said.
“Sometimes it can be difficult to get a new team to buy into your philosophy,” Bartek said. “I think that we were all on the same page within a couple of weeks.”
While Bartek would prefer more wins than losses this year, she said that one of her goals is to make sure that everyone on her team becomes a more well-rounded swimmer. She plans on doing this by putting the high schoolers outside of their comfort zone.
“One of the things that was happening when I first started is that they were used to doing their own thing,” she said. “That’s something that I won’t allow to happen. I’m going to challenge them.”
The main way Bartek has challenged her teams is by throwing curveballs at them. She will put her swimmers in off-events so that they have to learn to improve on all of their strokes, not just their prominent one.
“The thing is, I’m not going to ask them to do anything that they can’t handle,” Bartek said. “If I have someone doing the backstroke when they usually do butterfly, it’s because I know they can do it and excel. I just need to get them to realize it. That is where their trust in me becomes key.”
With Bartek pushing for the athletes to become well-rounded, it should come as no surprise that there are no true standouts on the teams.
“That’s how I want it,” she said. “We win and lose as a team. Yes there are going to be some that are just naturally better, but they don’t stand out because with everyone continually improving, it is the team as a whole that sees the success.
“I expect the entire team to rise to the occasion. On this team, it takes everyone to make us win, not just one.”

About the Author

Jon is a 2011 graduate of Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich. While at Calvin, Jon worked for the college newspaper, Chimes, where he was the sports editor and co-managing editor. Jon began writing for The Morning Journal in March of 2013 as a crime reporter before moving to the sports department in December of 2013. Reach the author at jbehm@morningjournal.com
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